Celebrate Heritage Open Day across Morecambe and Lancaster

Morecambe Heritage Centre will be open to the public for free on a weekend to celebrate some of the UK’s most historic buildings.

The Marine Road Central ‘pop-up’ exhibition centre, which recently welcomed its 1000th visitor, will waive its £2 admission charge for the Heritage Open Days weekend (Saturday and Sunday).

The venue is currently showing a display of old-time entertainment memorabilia owned by music hall enthusiast Ken Bowe.

Visitors over the weekend can enter a raffle where first prize is a trip on a ‘Brief Encounter with Eric.’

The winner plus guest will be taken in Eric Morecambe’s restored Rolls Royce car on a trip around the resort to various locations connected to Eric’s life and legacy.

Gary Morecambe, Eric’s son, will visit the centre in the former Taylor’s gift shop in person next week.

Ken’s exhibition has been extended until October and then a new display on the heritage of Morecambe will be on show through the winter months.

The centre, staffed by volunteers, is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 4pm.

In other Heritage Open Days events, Morecambe Town Hall opens its doors for a special free guided tour at 2pm on Sunday.

The tour includes the rare opportunity to view items from the town’s civic collection including the new portrait of Eric Morecambe by Robert Newbiggin which was unveiled earlier in the year.

Places on the tour can be booked in advance by calling 01524 582000.

A historic lost Lancaster Park will also be open for guided walks by a local community group as part of the national Heritage Open Day scheme.

The Friends of Lune Bank Gardens and LESS CiC have combined to set up a series of guided walks through the former formal gardens on Halton Road in Skerton.

There are two chances to go on the guided walks starting from the Rowing club boathouse on Friday September 11 between 6pm and 8pm, when the Mayor of Lancaster will be attending, and on Sunday September 13 between 1pm - 5.30pm.

The walks are the launch of the Friends of Lune Bank Gardens group which is hoping to raise funds to refurbish the gardens and bring them back into use for the local community.

The land for the gardens was given to the town by Lord Ashton in 1903 with funds to lay them out.

There are no facilities, just steps and a steep ramp to access the gardens from Halton Road. No booking is required for the Lune walk.

A number of activities will also take place at Lancaster City Museum and King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum, The Cottage Museum, Lancaster, Judges’ Lodgings Museum, Lancaster Maritime Museum and Lancaster Castle.

Other buildings opening to the public for the Heritage Open Days include; the Ruskin Library at Lancaster University, St Paul’s Church in Scotforth, Carnforth Masonic Hall and Heysham Heritage Centre.

For further information about any of the Heritage Open Day events please visit online at the following websites

http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory/lune-bank-gardens-guided-walks or www.lancaster.gov.uk/heritageopendays.

Alternatively you can pick up a list of the buildings you can explore this year at town halls and visitor information centres across Morecambe and Lancaster.